27th January 2015 - Financial Counselling Australia has today released its 2013-14 Annual Report. FCA’s Chair, Carmel Franklin, notes that just one issue dominated the year: funding. As we began the year, it was very uncertain as to whether the Government would continue the Commonwealth Financial Counselling Program. We were…
12/01/2015 12th January 2015 - The Financial Counsellors Association of Queensland has today called on all political parties to commit to funding a dedicated financial counselling program in Queensland. Queensland is the only State or Territory in Australia that does not fund a financial counselling program. Financial counsellors, who work in…
23rd December 2014 - A number of financial counsellors and other stakeholders have contacted FCA asking us about our funding position. We think it is important that we respond to those concerns. At date, the best we can say is that the position remains uncertain and that we hope to…
16th December 2014 - Financial Counselling Australia has welcomed ‘Dealing with debt collectors: Your rights and responsibilities', released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week. The overwhelming majority of consumers want to pay their debts, but unfortunately some people, often due to a…
15 December 2014 - Community organisations today have welcomed AGL Energy Limited’s (AGL) $6m commitment to provide greater support for vulnerable energy customers. Brotherhood of St Laurence, Financial Counselling Australia, Kildonan UnitingCare, Queensland Council of Social Service, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, South Australia Council of Social Service and St Vincent…
9th September 2014 - Financial Counselling Australia congratulates the financial counsellors who received awards as part of MoneySmart Week. The Salvation Army’s MoneyCare financial counselling service in Newcastle received the highest honour in the community category, with an outstanding achievement award. Their You’re the Boss program, set up by financial counsellor Kirsten Harnett, is a…
Thursday, 21 August 2014 - Veda Advantage Ltd, a company which stores the credit history of millions of Australians, has been accused of breaching new credit reporting laws by promoting its $79.95 credit report at the expense of the free credit report it is legally required to offer. Consumer advocates say…
24th June 2014 - Consumer advocates and financial counsellors have applauded Federal Parliament’s move to stop the Australian Financial Security Authority charging individuals $120 to declare bankruptcy. The fee, introduced in April, caused wide-spread concern among consumer advocates and financial counsellors who argued it would act as a roadblock for…
22nd June 2014 - Financial Counselling Australia has today released “Too Poor to Go Bankrupt: The Impact of the New Fee for Lodging a Debtor’s Petition”. The report describes the results of a survey of financial counsellors about the impact of the $120 fee for lodging a debtor’s petition for…
4th June 2014 - Last week the Productivity Commission released a hugely important report documenting the literacy and numeracy of adult Australians. The report has received hardly any media attention[1] but should be a wake-up call for all of us - the community sector, industry and government – about how we communicate…